changes to Council Tax Benefit

ladyrider260

BigAunty wrote: »

Incredible. I'm not surprised that councils are seeking a small percentage from (some) benefit claimants, though a quarter of the council tax bill is still enormous for a household that qualifies solely for a low benefit like JSA, perhaps having to find a tenner a week.

But the lack of help for band E and over is mind-boggling - imagine someone on a low paid sickness or job seeking benefit who has to find perhaps £50 a week for their council tax.

Exactly. My life will be very different in 12 months and I (hopefully) won't have to worry about it but even the lady at the council said that she has no idea how families in higher banded properties will manage.

It's frightening. They've made so many cuts to low income families/single people that this is going to have a HUGE knock-on effect in about 12 months time. This country is finished

fatbelly

Murphymycat wrote: »

It is nice of the Government to protect pensioners, but they have not really thought it through. A single person on Pension Credit gets roughly twice the amount a single unemployed person gets. The pensioner will not have to pay any CTB yet the unemployed person may have to contribute 25%. Doesn't really seem fair. I wonder how many unemployed people will end up in court because have chosen to pay for food, top up rent, electricity ahead of council tax?

Valid points. The answer to your last question is 'a lot'. Councils will be getting liability orders in the Magistrates Court in large quantities for relatively small amounts and handing them to the Bailiffs for them to harass people and add their own charges.

As you say ... not thought through. Can't imagine councils are happy about this but they have to work within the framework handed down from on high.

The other oddity is that this becomes one benefit that does not form part of Universal Credit and so councils have to retain all the benefit staff they used to employ to administer Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.

BigAunty

ladyrider260 wrote: »

...

It's frightening. They've made so many cuts to low income families/single people that this is going to have a HUGE knock-on effect in about 12 months time. This country is finished

I know but the flipside (for arguments sake) is that the UK has the most generous benefits for lone parents in Europe and the highest rate of lone parents....Are the two related? In Germany, Italy, Spain, etc, it's expected that the non-resident parent or the parent-with-care's family pays for the upbringing of the child.

Plus for most of the time since Beveridge got the welfare state implemented, income tax receipts from employees were always greater than the spending on benefits until a few years ago when they were exceeded by 25 billion and set to be the norm, a very unhealthy imbalance that was set to be the norm after the implementation of the winter fuel allowance, EMA, doubling of the housing benefit bill and so forth.

But I think many households are going to be caught unawares by this - this will become a major news item and make the govt v. unpopular, even though they've tried to move responsibility (and therefore blame) to the local councils.

princessdon

I think one thing that will stand out will be the postcode lottery

Eg

LA A - 25% to pay
LA B - 5% to pay
LA C - 0% to pay

They really need some form of uniformity


But I do agree with them paying something (not 25% though - even I think that is harsh) as it makes them realise that bills need to be paid. 5% accross the board (pensioners too) would have been more fair to me personally.

ladyrider260

Completely agree with all of the above. We have too many people in the country claiming benefits, it makes me wonder how much of this is exacerbated by immigration and being members of the EU. Other countries do tend to have more work available and are a lot more strict with immigration. I have friends in Italy and France who have both mentioned that employment where they live is readily available.....but their people are also more willing to work!
GB having the highest rate of lone parents is indeed the fallout from way back where getting pregnant on benefits bagged you lots of money and a council house.....thus follows a couple of generations who have become the 'benefit culture' and see benefits as a lifestyle. One thing is for sure, as someone fairly new to the whole I.S business (from an employed older woman who had a baby in a long term relationship) I have noticed how much has been cut from this. It's no longer the 'mega bucks' it used to be.

I do count myself very lucky and as I said, I will not be here in 12 months time, but having cut after cut is getting to the point where I'm literally going to be selling things off to keep afloat. Unrealistic LHA, cuts in CM (nice to know my child has to pay for his fathers decision to have a child when they cannot afford it!), some benefits being frozen and ever rising heating/rent/electric/fuel/food etc means I'm counting every penny as it is. I'm looking ahead and trying to make savings now so the 25% I have to pay won't be such a shock.

skylight

My council (Slough Borough) cannot even tell me what the changes are going to be and the people on the phone claim to not even know about any changes and she wanted to who did I hear this from!

I'll have to dig out the contact details for my local councillor I think.

fatbelly

skylight wrote: »

My council (Slough Borough) cannot even tell me what the changes are going to be and the people on the phone claim to not even know about any changes and she wanted to who did I hear this from!

I'll have to dig out the contact details for my local councillor I think.

I don't think the final schemes have to be submitted till December. It sounds like the Devon councils have gone public early with their plans, presumably to try to stir up objections with a view to getting the government to do (another) u-turn.

PhGage

The impact of the government’s proposals for replacing Council Tax Benefit is a much better explanation of the options councils have than my own council's guide.

Sixer

BigAunty wrote: »

Incredible. I'm not surprised that councils are seeking a small percentage from (some) benefit claimants, though a quarter of the council tax bill is still enormous for a household that qualifies solely for a low benefit like JSA, perhaps having to find a tenner a week.

But the lack of help for band E and over is mind-boggling - imagine someone on a low paid sickness or job seeking benefit who has to find perhaps £50 a week for their council tax.

I just checked my LA and it's 70% and only up to Band D.

And I don't think pensioners are protected for any other reason than pensioners vote more than working age people do.

This is dreadful policy making - whichever side of the cuts/anti-cuts debate you belong to.

fatbelly

PhGage wrote: »

The impact of the government’s proposals for replacing Council Tax Benefit is a much better explanation of the options councils have than my own council's guide.

Written a year ago - shame no-one seems to have taken any notice of it. I noted the paragraph:

The harshness of such an approach cannot be denied. A single unemployed person without children or disabilities currently receives £67.50 a week to live on, and forcing them to pay Council Tax would reduce this to closer to £50 a week. It is difficult to see how they will make ends meet, and collection of Council Tax from this group is likely to be a severe problem. Nevertheless, maintaining support for people with children or disabilities, and avoiding the potential administrative nightmare of imposing ‘equal pain’, will necessarily involve making difficult choices such as this.